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Vic, NSW hit by petrol shortages

Petrol stations in Victoria and NSW are running out of fuel due to delivery problems. Nine News

At least two Sydney petrol stations have completely run out of fuel after fuel tankers from the troubled Cootes fleet were taken off the road.

The BP at Haberfield in Sydney's inner west is displaying signs on bowsers apologising for the “current disruption to the supply of fuel in Sydney” and telling customers the problem is “industry-wide and is the result of short-term logistics constraints”.

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The company grounded trucks in Victoria last week amid safety concerns and a number of vehicles are off the road in NSW after Roads Minister Duncan Gay ordered full compliance inspections.

BP confirmed on Monday that a shortage of Cootes trucks had disrupted the company's distribution network and stations in Sydney had run out of some types of petrol.

Company spokesman Jamie Jardine was unable to say how many of its 424 NSW stations had run short because the situation was changing “hour by hour”.

Asked on Tuesday how many BP stations had run completely dry, Mr Jardine said “I'm not in a position to provide a running commentary on stocks at individual service stations”.

“We are using all the resources available to us to maximise supply to our service stations and customers. We would urge our customers not to change their buying patterns,” he added.

Service Station Association senior manager Colin Long said petrol companies who relied solely on Cootes for transport “are going to have problems”.

He added that other fuel retailers, such as Caltex and independent stations, “have their own transport” and were not affected.

One smh.com.au reader reported petrol shortages at a Caltex and independent petrol station on Tuesday morning, saying he almost ran out of petrol.

Mr Long said motorists who could not find their normal grade of fuel may “shop around” at other petrol stations, however shortages at other branded stations would be “isolated”.

McAleese, the owner of Cootes Transport, is due to reveal on Tuesday the magnitude of the hit to its earnings from the crackdown on its trucking fleet in NSW and Victoria.

The transport company sought an extra day to prepare a review of the timing and details of a restructure of Cootes, which employs about 1000 people, after seeking a suspension of trading from the stock exchange.

Authorities made snap inspections of Cootes' fuel tankers in Victoria on Friday, which led to the grounding of 25 of the 35 trucks and trailers inspected. Faults included defects in brakes, air bags, loose bolts and oil leaks.

McAleese also faces the possibility of law firms encouraging shareholders to consider class actions.

The loss of the contracts came just three months after two people were killed and five injured when a Cootes fuel tanker lost control on a bend in Sydney's northern suburbs and burst into flames.

Authorities in NSW and Victoria have also issued Cootes with hundreds of defect notices, including those for ineffective brakes, oil and fuel leaks, steering, axle, suspension and exhaust failures, broken engine mounts and tread peeling from tyres.

A number of service stations contacted by Fairfax Media on Monday reported fuel shortages, especially of E-10 petrol.

If VicRoads or the Roads and Maritime Services continue to refuse to allow Cootes tankers onto the road, supplies to fuel retailers across Sydney are expected to remain patchy.

Shell and 7-Eleven have about 350 petrol stations between them in NSW and are also serviced by Cootes.

On Monday, Shell spokesman Paul Zennaro would not say whether stations had run out of fuel, adding “we are monitoring the situation very closely … we are managing the situation with the available fleet that we have”.

He said Shell also used other haulers, but urged customers “not to change their normal buying habits and only buy fuel when they need to”.

A 7-Eleven spokeswoman would not confirm if fuel shortages had occurred, but said the number of tankers available to supply its stores “may be reduced, and therefore supply may be affected”.

Cootes has been under intense scrutiny since last October when one of its petrol tankers was involved a fiery crash in Mona Vale which killed two people.

Authorities in NSW and Victoria have issued Cootes with hundreds of defect notices. They include notices for ineffective brakes, oil and fuel leaks, steering, axle, suspension and exhaust failures, broken engine mounts and tread peeling from tyres.

Mr Gay told the ABC on Tuesday that while some trucks were off the road, "we don't apologise for putting safety and people's lives ahead of anything else".

"It is a situation that we've been closely monitoring and we do believe there is enough fleet operating if people are sensible," he said.

He has threatened to ground the entire Cootes fleet in NSW – a move Service Stations Association senior manager Colin Long said “would have a substantial impact” on fuel supplies in NSW.

Shell and BP both plan to switch to other haulage companies.

Cootes, whose fuel tankers are owned by McAleese, was placed in a trading halt on Thursday after warning that it was reviewing its earnings forecast for this financial year, in light of trading conditions last month.

"I don't imagine it will be overly pretty," a fund manager, who declined to be named, said of the anticipated hit to McAleese's earnings this year.

"The Cootes business has obviously got some compliance issues. They are going to have to be squeaky clean because they are going to continue to get audited."

McAleese shares plunged 29 per cent last month after it revealed it had lost the key Shell and BP haulage contracts.

The transport company has forecast that it stands to lose about $93 million a year from the loss of those contracts and its decision to drop fuel haulage contracts with 7-Eleven in NSW and Queensland.

McAleese floated on the Australian stock exchange in late November at $1.47 a share but last traded at just $1.10 a share before it was placed in a halt on Thursday.

A spokesman for Mr Gay's office said they did not know when the inspections would be finished, but the minister would wait until their completion to decide whether to ground the fleet.